Delores and Christmas Traditions

Christmas traditions from the entrenched to the new are always such a comfort.  From something small, like a type of Christmas candy showing up at the store to an elaborate family gathering, these events bring back fond memories of times past.

One unintentional tradition at our home is the arrival of the hippomoosasaurus. What is a hippomoossasaurus, you ask with a suspicious tone as you doubt my sanity once again? Let me ‘splain.

One year, one of my daughters and I were perusing the weekly pile of shopping ads that had arrived in the mail. One of these ads had an artful display of various lawn ornaments. There were the usual reindeers, Santas, sleighs, made out of white plastic and covered with lights, then there were the multitudes of blow-up tackiness, cartoon characters, snowmen, etc. etc.

At the edge of the display photo was a strange shaped creature made in the outline of white plastic. It was wearing a red tutu and a garland wreath around its neck. From the picture, I wasn’t quite sure what it was supposed to be. It had a roundish head with a big snout and antlers, like a moose, but then it had a pig-like body, so maybe a hippo or a dinosaur.

I asked my daughter what she thought the creature could be and she too was genuinely confused. So after further ‘serious’ discussion on the matter we decided that it was a hippomoosasaurus and I jokingly made it known that I wanted one of these monstrosities to put on the front lawn so that people driving by would wonder what it was.

A few days later, as silliness usually progresses in my family, the hippomoosasaurus had its own theme song and my daughters had told most of our friends and family about the wonderful mythical amalgamation.

One afternoon as I was cooking dinner, I received a picture of Glory, my middlest, posing with a real hippomoosasauras lit up in all its glory. (Har, bad pun.) “They’d found it!” she texted me excitedly. I sent her back a J and thought nothing more of the matter until my mother and my girls returned home from their shopping trip. And what did they bring me? You guessed it, my very own hippomoosasaur! I was so thrilled and we all broke into a chorus about Delores the hippomoosasaurus, who lives in the forest with Chuck Norris.

So every year, as we ceremonially place our lone lawn ornament atop the birdbath and sing her lovely song, I dwell on how this silly tradition brings up such wonderful memories. Why does the fondness of these traditions bring us such comfort? I believe that traditions unconsciously remind us of our constant and unchanging Heavenly Father. He inventively teaches all the same lessons over and over, in ten-trillion different ways, yet our Wonderful God is constant and unchanging in His love for us year after year.

May your Christmas be merry and filled with Love!